Vermin
by Aleric
Summary: A little tale to explain why Setsuna hates cockroaches. sort of


Vermin

Disclaimer: I do not own SailorMoon. I have never owned SailorMoon. And to be honest, I don't think I would want to own SailorMoon. (Oh, the MIGRAINES)

"Haruka!"

Haruka yawned. "Hey, what's up Michi?" Michiru was standing in the kitchen with her hands on her hips. A stern frown on her face as she glared at the Wind Senshi standing in the doorway. Haruka rubbed the sleep from her eyes and blinked. Finally noticing the angry look on her partner's face she began to worry. "Are you upset about something?"

Michiru closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Haruka, what is behind me?"

She cocked her head to one side and looked over Michiru's left shoulder. "The kitchen sink?" She guessed.

"And what is in that sink?" Michiru continued her interrogation.

Haruka's head dropped with a sigh. "Last night's dishes?" she answered petulantly.

"Exactly!" Michiru declared triumphantly. "Last night's dishes. Not to mention an open jar of peanut butter, three beer cans, and a half empty bag of cheese-puffs. Which you promised me you were going to take care of."

"I'm really sorry Michiru." Haruka said. "I swear I was going to do them right after the game was over. But then it went into a triple over-time. A 'triple' over-time." She pleaded with Michiru. But the Aqua-Senshi remained stone faced.

"Then why didn't you do it when the game was over?" she asked.

Haruka blinked incredulously. "Do you know how long a triple over-time takes?" She said. "It was really late. And I was emotionally drained from watching the game. Besides, what's the big deal if I do the cleanup last night? Or if I do it in the morning?"

"The big deal," Michiru said sharply. Is that if we leave the dishes sitting for too long, then we run the risk of- oh DAMMIT!" She suddenly stomped on the floor. "I think I got one."

"Got what?" Both women turned. Startled at the sound of their housemate, Setsuna Meiou entering the room. She raised an eyebrow at Michiru's stance. "Is there something wrong?"

"Wrong? Oh no, nothing at all." Michiru chuckled nervously. "How are you this morning?" she asked.

"Who me? I'm fine." Setsuna answered with a bemused expression.. "You on the other hand seem to be attached to the floor."

"What? No, I'm just stepping on a spot on the floor."

Setsuna gazed at the foot in question. "Just a spot?" Bot girls nodded vigorously, fidgeting under Setsuna's hard look. "Well I'm going to get cleaned up." she said turning down the hallway. " Just make sure there are no other 'spots' when I get back."

"Of course. Take your time." Michiru called out cheerfully. She waited for the hallway door to close before turning and glaring at Haruka. "Clean this place up now!" she hissed. "I have to go wake up Hotaru."

"Yes ma'am." Haruka said meekly. She quickly went to the sink to check the damage. The peanut butter sadly was unsalvageable. A leak from the faucet had dripped into the open jar. Ruining it's contents. She rinsed out the beer cans and tossed them into the recycling bin. Picking up the cheese puff bag, she shook it. Listening to the contents rustle inside she realized there was still half a bag left. It could be salvageable. Cheese puffs sometimes tasted better stale. But then she noticed the bag still rustled without her shaking it. Suppressing a shudder she tightly rolled the bag closed and stuffed it into the trash disposal. Then, just on the safe side, she removed the liner bag and took it to the garbage bin outside. Finally she started washing the dishes in the sink. She had just finished rinsing off the last glass when Setsuna returned to the kitchen.

"My my," she said. "This is finally looking like a place you can safely eat in."

"Well, gee thanks." Haruka muttered sarcastically. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"Just some green tea, thank you." Setsuna replied. She picked up the kettle and held it for a second, before shaking it. A hollow sloshing sound was heard. She turned and glared at Haruka. "You didn't put the kettle on, did you?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Haruka snapped. "I was a little busy." Setsuna glanced at her for a moment then finally shrugged.

"No matter then. I'll just have to heat up a mug in the microwave." She walked past her housemate. Whispering sotto voiced about "Making allowances for certain people."

"You know, it wouldn't hurt you to show a little gratitude you know." Haruka replied angrily.

"Don't you dare Haruka!" Michiru said angrily, as she and Hotaru entered the kitchen.. "If you had done the dishes last night like you promised to, you wouldn't be in trouble now."

"Good morning Haruka-papa. Good morning Setsuna-mama." Hotaru said cheerfully.

"Good morning firefly." Setsuna smiled at her foster daughter before giving her a peck on the forehead. "Did you sleep well?"

The girl nodded cheerfully. "What's for breakfast?" she asked.

Setsuna glanced over at Haruka. "Ask your Haruka-papa." she said. "She offered to make it."

"Sure thing kiddo." Haruka declared airily. "Whatever you like." Hotaru looked at her thoughtfully. Then went over to the pantry cupboard and removed a small container. "Wait a minute. Instant soba noodles? Why don't you let me make you some rice and miso soup?"

"Um, no thank you Haruka-papa." Hotaru said with a sideways look at the dishes drying on the rack. "I wouldn't want you to have to clean more dishes."

Haruka groaned. "What is this? A conspiracy? I'm not really that bad, am I?"

"Oh yes you are." Michru smiled slightly at her partner. "Your lack of cleaning skills are legendary." Haruka snorted at this and sat down heavily in her chair. "And don't pout." she said sternly.

"Setsuna-mama?" The Time-Senshi looked at her daughter curiously. "Why are you so afraid of cockroaches?"

"Hotaru!" Michiru scolded. "You know better than to ask questions like that."

"No, it's alright." Setsuna replied. She turned back to Hotaru. "You mean your Michiru-mama and Haruka-papa haven't ever told you why?" She asked looking at the two.

They both shrugged. "We thought it was really your reason to tell." Michiru replied. "It wasn't our place to say."

"Very well." Setsuna sighed. "It all began with the fall of the Silver Millennium. Beryl had somehow cast a stasis spell on the TimeGates. Thereby trapping me. I was unable to get to the MoonPalace to help fight. Fortunately, the spell couldn't contain the TimeGates' chaotic energies for long. Still," she said sadly. "It was too late to do anything.

"When I finally arrived at the Palace, the place was a shambles. The walls were a crumbling ruin. Everywhere I looked there was nothing but death and decay. Nothing was left alive. Except..."

"Except..." Hotaru's eyes widened. "You mean cockroaches?" Setsuna nodded painfully. "There were cockroaches in the MoonKingdom?"

"No. Cockroaches are only indigenous to Earth." Setsuna answered. "They must have somehow 'stowed away' when Beryl's forces transported themselves."

"But how could they survive?"

Setsuna shrugged. "Hey, we're talking about a creature that can withstand an atomic blast. That can last almost a week with it's head chopped off." Hotaru shuddered at the thought.

"Anyways," Setsuna continued. "As I was exploring the wreckage, I kept seeing more and more of the little vermin. Everywhere I looked they were all over everything. They were starting to freak me out." Her eyes hardened. "But the last straw was when I approached the Queen's Throne. As I approached Her, Her 'form', I saw what had to be at least a dozen of them crawling on her. Her mouth was slightly opened. And a number of them were trying to crawl inside." Hotaru looked a little nauseous as she pushed the cup of noodles away. Then she moved over to where her Setsuna-mama was sitting and gave her a hug. Setsuna smiled at her gratefully and put her arm around the girl to return the embrace. Taking a deep breath, and wiping away a tear, she continued her story.

"After seeing that I pretty much lost it. Here lay the remains of the greatest and grandest lady I have ever known. Not to mention a close personal friend. And these 'things' were desecrating her body. Without thinking, I aimed the TimeStaff at them and unleashed the biggest 'deadly scream' blast I could muster. The bugs were pretty much vaporized. Along with Serenity's body. But that wasn't enough. I started moving throughout the Palace. Every time I saw a cockroach, or even the hint of a cockroach, I blasted it." she shook the head sadly. "And there were a lot of them. By the time I finally stopped there weren't even a ruins of the Moon Palace anymore. It was all just scattered rubble. That's why no one has ever found any evidence of a MoonKingdom. Because..."

"Because you had destroyed it." Hotaru whispered softly.

Setsuna nodded. "When I realized what I had done, I was overcome with guilt and remorse. Because of my tantrum nothing was left. And I was left all alone. There was nothing left to do but return to the TimeGates and wallow in my misery." She turned and smiled at her daughter. "It wasn't until centuries later when I found out that you had all been reincarnated that I began to feel hope again." Hotaru smiled happily and gave Setsuna a big hug. Which she returned enthusiastically. "Still," she said thoughtfully, "to this day I can't stand the sight of cockroaches. To me they will always represent my failure to protect my Queen." Hotaru looked at her for a moment. Then sat back down in her seat and quickly polished off the rest of her noodles. Walking over to the sink, she rinsed out the container. And crushed it down, before taking it over to the waste basket.

"I'll take that for you kiddo." Haruka said, quickly taking the crushed cup. "I still have to put a new liner bag in the wastebin."

"Thank you Haruka." Setsuna said gratefully as she stood up. "Come along, Hotaru. I'll give you a ride to school." Hotaru nodded and ran to get her books.

As they arrived at the school, Hotaru looked over at her mother."Setsuna-mama? I'm glad you're not sad anymore."

Setsuna looked at her daughter with an amused twinkle in her eye. "I'll let you in on a little secret." She said in a conspiratorial tone. "That story I told you? I just made it up."

Hotaru's eyes widened. "You mean you didn't destroy the MoonPalace?" she asked.

Setsuna smugly shook her head. "It's safely in Limbo. Waiting for the beginning of the Crystal Millennium. When it will reappear in the center of Crystal Tokyo."

"And you're not really afraid of cockroaches?"

Again she shook her head. "Oh don't get me wrong." she said. "I do hate the little vermin." Her face grimaced. " But if there is anything I hate worse than cockroaches, it's cleaning up after your Haruka-papa." Her face suddenly brightened. "But now, I have the perfect excuse not to do so."

-FIN-


End file.
